Alive and Alone
by mar55
Summary: Not a Time Travel Story! Naruto is knocked unconscious in a strange shrine for a hundred years. Now, he's awake and finds that he's somehow become immortal. Returning to Konoha, he finds it's not the way he left it and must find out what's going on.
1. The death of Naruto Uzumaki

**Not a Time Travel Story! Summary: Naruto is knocked unconscious in a strange shrine for hundreds of years. Now, he's awake and finds that he's somehow become immortal. Returning to Konoha, he finds it's not the way he left it and must find out what's going on. Naruto x Sakura**

**Alive and Alone**

**Part I **

**Death of Naruto Uzumaki**

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><p>It wasn't supposed to be like this. It wasn't supposed to come to this. So…why? Why did this have to happen?<p>

Team Seven was sent on a simple B ranked mission. After the defeat of Madara, some shinobi saw no reason to keep the Shinobi Alliance. Many of them began defecting from each village, except Konoha and Kirigakure. The latest defect came from Sunagakure. Bastards even stole some information on their own shinobi to sell to Bandits. Their mission was to apprehend them and retrieve the information. Seemed to be easy, even though their skill levels were C-B ranked at best. Team seven had grown stronger, though. Naruto having achieved a level beyond S ranked, and Sakura having achieved A rank herself.

The shinobi were last seen crossing into restricted territory between Konoha and Kumogakure. The area was restricted by order of the Shodai Hokage. It was a sacred grounds that were supposed to remain untainted and un-explored. Not even Madara Uchiha had dared go near it. But these shinobi were fools and crossed the line. Chasing them down, Naruto and the others had cornered them on these very grounds. The defected shinobi weren't going to go down quietly. As if they expected differently.

"You Konoha brats! Why don't you just stay out of this!" The leader had yelled.

"The villages are now allies! Why can't you just accept that and keep peace!" Naruto had yelled back. They could see it in his eyes that he was angry. Sakura knew why. They were betraying their comrades. Their whole village. And for what? Because they were afraid of change. That they saw no point in working together with the other villages now that they were all safe. Safe. Because of Naruto.

The shinobi decided to fight back. Team seven was outnumbered, 6 to 4. Not like it really mattered. Naruto was on a whole other level than anyone. Sakura wasn't exactly a weakling herself. Naruto had managed to take out 2 of them at once, using his Shadow Clones and Rasengan. He was too fast for them thanks to those years of endless training. Sakura only needed to use a small number of chakra punches to finish off her opponent. One by one, the shinobi quickly fell until they were all on the ground. Injured, but alive. Congratulating themselves on a job well done, one of the shinobi managed to slip away with the Intel they were supposed to retrieve.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going!" Naruto yelled. Acting on pure impulse, Naruto decided to chase the man down. Sakura tried to stop him, but knew it was no use. She merely sighed and walked with the rest of the team in the direction he ran. As they were walking, Kakashi noticed something odd. "Sakura! Sai! Don't move!" He yelled. Sai stopped immediately, but Sakura reacted too late.

She knew what Kakashi was warning them about. She had tripped a wire that was going to set off a trap. Cursing herself, she looked around for what she had set off. But surprisingly, nothing came. Or, so she thought. Looking down, she noticed a feint, blue light on the wire. Her eyes widened when it sped down the wire like a rocket. "It's a chakra trigger!" She called out.

Kakashi noticed it was heading in the shrine in front of them. Naruto had headed in their after the last shinobi to get the Intel. This was bad. Reacting quickly, he drew a small amount of blood from his thumb and went through a few hand seals. Placing his hand on the ground, he performed a quick summoning technique, bringing out Pakkun.

"Pakkun. Theirs no time to explain. You have to find Naruto and fast." He said. Pakkun nodded and quickly sniffed out for Naruto, before heading into the shrine. Without even thinking, Sakura ran after him, followed a minute later by the rest of the team. She was worried. She knew how rare chakra triggers were and they were only used on high level traps. Traps intended to kill. Her mind was running through scenarios, but she was too distracted.

"Sakura!"

She heard Kakashi's voice before quickly being yanked back by her masked sensei. She was so caught in worrying about Naruto, she didn't notice the chakra trigger reached it's target. A series of powerful paper bombs on the roof. As they were slowly set off, one by one, the team finally found their blonde haired teammate. He had captured the shinobi and had that big, goofy grin on his face. He had no idea what was going on.

"Naruto! Move!"

Naruto looked confused at his sensei, before noticing what was going on. He finally noticed the paper bombs and tried to react. However, a strange glowing light from beneath his feet stopped him from moving. Confused, he looked down to see a strange circle beneath his feet. "I can't move!" He yelled. The paper bombs continued to explode until the roof began collapsing.

"I'll get him." Pakkun said. He ran in after Naruto, to Kakashi's disagreement.

"Sakura! We have to go!" He yelled. He grabbed Sakura and Sai, teleporting them out of their. From outside, they could see the large explosions. The roof had completely collapsed. Tears ran rapidly down her face.

"Naruto!" She cried. That was the last time they ever saw him. Their was too much rubble to search through and they thought his body was probably un-retrievable. Sakura was devastated, as was the entire village. A large memorial service was held for the blonde Jinchuuriki. Ever since than, things changed now that the would-be Hokage was dead. But things aren't always as they seem.

* * *

><p>Naruto slowly opened his eyes. He felt sharp pains all over his body and couldn't move any parts of his body. He was confused, and couldn't see clearly. <strong>'You foolish brat! You could've gotten us both killed!' <strong>the fox yelled.

"What happened?.." Naruto mumbled. His vision slowly became clearer and he did not like what he saw. In front of him were large pieces of debris. He couldn't move because he was buried alive.

'**We were buried alive you idiot!' **The Kyuubi yelled.

Things became clearer to Naruto. He remembered chasing the shinobi into the shrine, the paper bombs, the yellow light. All of it. But, how wasn't he dead? He couldn't move to escape the falling debris. He was in immense pain but he thought it would be even greater than what it was. 'Why didn't you just give me your chakra so we could've got out!'

'**I couldn't! Whatever it is you were doing, both my remaining chakra and the chakra you took from me were temporarily gone!'** Naruto gasped and his eyes widened. Did that strange circle and light have anything to do with it? That could wait. First, he had to think of a way out of his current situation. **'Our chakra is back, so we can use it to escape. Just don't get us killed again, brat.' **

Naruto accessed his Kyuubi chakra, going full nine tails mode. Using the immense chakra, Naruto blasted his way out of the debris and freed himself. The chakra dissipated as he observed his surroundings. The place looked demolished. The ceiling was gone completely, now littering the ground of the once sacred ceremonial grounds. Continuing to look around, Naruto noticed a feint figure laying amongst the debris. He recognized it as Pakkun. "Pakkun!"

Naruto ran over to the ninja hound, rolling him onto his side. He was pretty beat up, but not really injured as badly as he was. Pakkun's cape was slightly torn and he had a bunch of scratches over his body. The ninja hound slowly opened his eyes before looking up at Naruto. "Ugh. What happened?" he asked.

"I'm not sure. I mean, I remember the shrine caving in on us but after that, nothing." Naruto admitted. The ninja hound stood up, walking to Naruto's side. "We should probably head back to the village. Everyone's probably worried sick about…"

The conversation was cut short. The two of them found themselves being transported into a sewer like area, with a large cage sitting in front of them. Inside the cage was the Kyuubi himself. "What do you want, fox?" Naruto asked, irritated with the demon.

"What the heck is going on here?" Pakkun asked, a slight hint of fear in his voice. He wasn't used to seeing the fox, unlike Naruto. The demon still brought fear to many people, even in his near chakra less state. The fact he had destroyed most of the village, alone, was enough to bring fear to them.

'**I feel a disturbance in both, Naruto's body and yours, mutt. Not only that, but we've been out for quite some time.' **Kyuubi explained. Naruto put his arms behind his head, shrugging off the Fox demons suspicions.

"I'm sure it's nothing. We've been out cold before, right?" Naruto said. The fox slammed his claws into his cage fiercely. Pakkun jumped back, afraid of what the fox demon might do. Naruto knew better, however, and stood his ground without so much as flinching.

'**Listen to me you pathetic child! This isn't like one of your foolish comatose states! We haven't been our for a few days or weeks. We've been out for a matter of **_**years**_**!" **The fox yelled. Naruto and Pakkun's eyes widened. Things were getting weirder. Theirs no way they could've been out cold for years and survived. Being buried alive by rubble should've killed them alone. Let alone the dehydration and starvation, or even bleeding to death.

"But…how?" Naruto managed to get out.

'**Even I'm not sure. My chakra can heal you, but it can't keep you from starving to death or even bleeding out. That, is for you to figure out.' **Kyuubi said, before returning Naruto and Pakkun to their own minds.

"Good for nothing fox…" Naruto mumbled. He looked over at Pakkun, who was sniffing the ground randomly. Naruto was slightly confused.

"I can smell the village. And theirs a few shinobi not too far from here." He said. Naruto grinned. "Great! So all we have to do is head to the village and we can get this whole mess straightened out!" He replied happily.

The two went full speed ahead for the shinobi that Pakkun had sensed. They only ran for about 10 minutes before Pakkun admitted that they were close. He wasn't kidding about them being not too far from where they just were, Naruto had thought. He shrugged the idea off and continued running. As they got closer, Pakkun immediately stopped.

"Naruto, get down!" He yelled. Naruto looked confused before a random kunai came flying toward him. His eyes widened and he quickly dodged the incoming projectile. Before he knew it, 4 Anbu were surrounding them. One of them managed to grab hold of Pakkun, earning a pained howl from the hound.

"Pakkun!" Naruto called out. He tried to run over to his friend, only to find that he could no longer move his legs. Or any part of his body for that matter. 'Not again!' he thought. He finally recognized why he couldn't move. It was the shadow possession jutsu!

"Shikamaru! What's the big idea attacking me like that!" Naruto laughed. He heard the Anbu in front of him gasp in surprise. The Anbu took off his mask, revealing his true identity. Naruto realized that this wasn't Shikamaru, but someone who looked surprisingly like him.

"How do you know of my Great, Great Grandfather?" The shinobi asked. Naruto was more confused than ever. What did he mean by great, great grandfather? Naruto studied the shinobi for a moment. He was probably no older than he was. Maybe even 2 years younger. His hair was exactly like Shikamaru's but his facial features were slightly different. His eyes were a bit greener than Shikamaru's.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked. The other Anbu took notice of Naruto's headband and got into an attack stance, confusing him even further, as if that was even possible.

"That headband. Your with _them_. Prepare to die." One of the Anbu stated. The man ran at Naruto with a weird lightning jutsu that looked like the Chidori. Naruto narrowed his eyes and tried jumping away. To his surprise, his body was able to move again. Instead, the man who charged at him was frozen, along with the other Anbu.

"Saki!" The Shikamaru look alike called out. One of the other Anbu appeared in the middle of the circle, going through hand seals. When they stopped, the Anbu pointed their hand at the others. They all jerked up straight, before falling to the ground.

"You better have a good reason for that, Chojuro." The Anbu said. They took off their mask as well, revealing a girl with blue eyes and bubble gum pink hair. Naruto's eyes widened when he noticed the familiar hair color.

"I do. But for now.." Chojuro looked at Naruto. "Who are you? How do you know my great, great, grandfather and where did you get that headband?" he asked.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto told them. Both of their eyes widened with surprise.

"T-That's not possible! Naruto Uzumaki died 100 years ago!" Saki yelled. Naruto's eyes widened. It's really been 100 years? That couldn't be possible. But if it was, than that means the Konoha he knew was gone and everyone in it. Things were getting weird and he didn't like it.

"O-one hundred years?" Naruto asked. The one known as Chojuro nodded. He looked at Naruto as if trying to determine whether he was being truthful or not. Judging from the way he relaxed, Naruto knew he finally believed him. But why?

"He's telling the truth. Just look at his whisker marks. Plus, I can feel the strange chakra source he possesses. While it makes me uneasy, it proves he's telling the truth." Chojuro said. Saki relaxed as well and joined her teammates side. "So what do we do?" Saki asked.

Chojuro remained silent, thinking about what to do. No one else would believe that THE Naruto Uzumaki was alive, after 100 years. Part of him still didn't believe it himself. But for some reason, he could just feel it. That he was who he said he was. But that didn't help with the current situation. He thought it over more before sighing, settling on a decision. "We'll need to take him back to the village. For now, theirs too much confusion and he'll need answers before he can tell us anything." he said.

Once more, he looked at Naruto. This time, more fiercely than before. "But if your lying, I won't hesitate killing you on the spot." Chojuro explained. Naruto nodded, excepting the threat. After all, he was telling the truth so what did he need to worry about? But still, he didn't feel right. Not because he was being taken to Konoha by a couple of strangers or that the Konoha he knew was gone. But because he was alone once more. No Kakashi-Sensei. No Tsunade-Baa-Chan. And no Sakura-Chan. He felt his heart ache at that thought. But it was true. After 100 years it would be impossible for Sakura to still be alive. But than again, him and Pakkun shouldn't be either. Whatever was going on, he needed to find out what it was and how he can fix it. But deep down, he knew their was no going back. Not anymore. And that's what pained him the most.

**Thanks for reading and please review. Any thing you liked, didn't like or what you think might happen, just leave it in your review. More reviews I get, the faster the updates will come but the longest you'll hopefully need to wait is a week as I'll be trying to have at least 2 chapters written before I even update one. **

**Also, I understand that people don't like original characters but they won't be holding the lime light of the story. Most of the beginning parts of the story are focused around Naruto and as we go along, will focus on both Naruto and the others main characters of the Naruto universe, though I can't say how. **

**Also, I'll be looking for a beta for the story, since I won't have a hell of a lot of time for updates since I have work, college, relaxation, church, youth group, etc. I want each chapter to be near perfect so if your interested in being my beta, let me know but just know that I'll be keeping BOTH of us on a strict schedule. Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Review and have a nice day! **


	2. Died without you

**I want to thank everyone for the reviews already. I had a nice, long sleep (taking my trip back home thankfully.) and the time difference sucks. But, for now, I give you the next chapter. I already had this written and decided that I might as well release this next chapter to help ease some confusion. Enjoy. **

**Again, not a time travel story so Naruto WILL NOT be going back in time, or dimension or anything. **

**Alive and Alone**

**Part II**

**Died without you…**

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><p>Naruto's head was spinning. So many questions were running through his head right now. Like who exactly was Chojuro? And more importantly, Saki? Her hair seemed familiar but not the blue eyes. Could she really be Sakura's descendant? Chojuro must've noticed Naruto's inner turmoil because he decided to speak up.<p>

"While we make our trip back, why don't we start answering a few of your questions." Chojuro told him.

Naruto looked at Pakkun, who only nodded at him. Naruto nodded back and turned to Chojuro. He wanted to know about Saki more, but he figured he'd try and save himself that answer for just a little while longer. He didn't he'd be able to handle _that _answer. "Well. I did want to ask, who are you exactly?"

Chojuro turned away, looking straight ahead of him as they walked. At first, their was nothing but silence, as if he didn't no himself. Chojuro finally broke the silence and answered him. "My name is Chojuro. I'm from the Nara clan and a direct descendant of Shikamaru Nara. My name has been passed down ever since the death of my great, great grandfathers best friend."

Naruto listened attentively up to that point. He thought about what he just said before it finally clicked and a sense of sadness swept over him. Chojuro meant Choji. "So…that means that…" Naruto said. Chojuro merely looked at him and nodded before returning his gaze to the path in front of them.

Naruto than looked at Saki. Still wondering who she was. "And….you?.." he asked. Their was a slight fear in his voice that didn't go unnoticed. They all stopped and looked at Naruto.

"My name is Saki. I'm from the Yamanaka clan." Saki told him. They started walking again, except Naruto, who just stared at her. He felt a whirl of relief wash over him. She wasn't related to Sakura. The hair must've just been a coincidence. As they continued to walk, they found themselves getting close to the village. Chojuro and Saki stopped, earning confused looks from Naruto and Pakkun.

"Hey, what gives? Aren't we going to the village to straighten this mess out?" Naruto asked.

The two Anbu looked at him. Saki was the one who spoke up. "We are. But we need to take of your appearance first. You see…" She stopped.

"The village has changed since you've been gone. Were no longer Konoha. Not after…" Chojuro stopped as well. Now Naruto was really suspicious. The way they were acting, something was definitely wrong. And he wanted, no. Needed, to know what it was.

"Ever since what?" He asked.

Saki and Chojuro looked at each other. Saki tilted her head toward Naruto, urging him to say something, anything! Chojuro sighed and turned to Naruto. He kept his eyes closed for a moment, before opening them to look Naruto straight in the eyes. Naruto saw the look in his eyes. Their was pain and uneasiness settling inside of them. Whatever had happened, it was far from good.

"It was a few months after the village thought you had died. I don't remember all of the details, but we can fill in the gaps when we get back to the village. After you were pronounced dead, the village was attacked by someone stronger than the Akatsuki." Chojuro explained. Naruto's eyes widened.

It wasn't possible. Someone stronger than Akatsuki had attacked the village? Even with the Shinobi alliance in effect? Naruto remained silent so he could get the rest of the details from Chojuro. "He attacked with an army of undead shinobi using the impure world resurrection technique. He specifically attacked Konoha with his army, entirely of Uchiha, and destroyed it. That man was…."

Naruto gulped. It couldn't be.

"Sasuke Uchiha."

* * *

><p>"<em>Sasuke. What are our plans for the invasion?" asked Suigetsu. <em>

_Sasuke, Suigetsu and Juugo were currently discussing their attack plans. In just a few days, they'd be attacking Konoha and destroying it entirely. Sasuke closed his eyes and smirked. Around him were thousands of coffins, each marked with the symbol of the Uchiha clan. Directly behind him were 3 coffins. _

"_What's this we?" He asked. Suigetsu and Juugo were confused. As they were about to ask what he meant, several kunai came flying out of the three coffins behind Sasuke. Each one impaled the two Taka members into the wall. The lid's to the coffins fell to the ground with a loud thump that echoed through the halls of their new base. Three figures slowly stepped out of the coffins. _

_The three figures were Sasuke's family members. Mikoto, Fugaku and Itachi Uchiha. His mother, father and beloved brother. "You've outlived your usefulness. I have no use for you two any more." Sasuke said with a sick smirk. _

_Suigetsu and Juugo were horrified. Sasuke had turned on them. Suigetsu cursed himself for not seeing it coming. After all, he did blast through Karin just to kill Danzo. Hell, he even tried to have his other, former teammate, finish her off. And he felt nothing but joy. Sasuke really had fallen, even further then he had when they first met him. Than, right before their eyes, the blood relatives of their former teammate finished them off by impaling their hearts. _

_It was almost time. He found it ironic. He was about to destroy the village with the same clan they had scorned for all these years. The Uchiha clan would finally be cleansed and each of them would have their revenge. Every last woman and child would be slaughtered by his clan for their ultimate revenge. The thought brought a smile to his face. One even more sick and twisted than the one prior. As he finished his final preparations, his maniacal laughter echoed through the walls. Konoha was going to be no more._

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><p>Naruto felt sick to his stomach. How could he? His best friend had destroyed their village! Their home! He betrayed all of their friends, who risked their lives to bring him back. To save him! But the worst part, was he wasn't their to stop it. He had failed his friends. He failed his parents and Jiraya. He had failed Sakura. He fell to his knees, unable to handle this information. Saki felt bad for him.<p>

"The invasion was stopped by the Rokudaime Hokage and his student. Two people you knew very well." Chojuro added, hoping to ease his pain. Naruto's eyes widened and he stared at Chojuro. Hopeful. But that made Saki and Chojuro feel worse. They new what was coming next wouldn't help him. It would only devastate him further. But so wouldn't lying or hiding it. Saki placed her hand on Chojuro's shoulder, then looked at Naruto.

"The Rokudaime Hokage, Kakashi Hatake and Sakura Haruno killed Sasuke and saved what was left of the village. However…Sakura didn't make it too much longer…" She said sadly. Naruto clenched his fists. Somehow, deep down, he knew what they were trying to say. But knowing what was coming didn't make it any easier to handle.

"How did she?.." He managed to get out. The pain was too much to where he couldn't even finish his sentence.

Saki shrugged. She had no idea. Seeing the pain in his eyes made her feel sad. Sorry for him. "No one knows. They found that she had been poisoned. But with her medical prowess, she would've been able to get rid of the toxins." She said.

Naruto unclenched his fists and stared at the ground. Sakura had died, not long after he did. Part of him was relieved that she hadn't suffered. A really small part of him was somewhat happy she hadn't fallen in love with anyone other than Sasuke after. But for the most part, he was upset and angry that she never got to live her life. And angry that he felt even some kind of relief. He couldn't bear to live with himself for thinking that.

"After that, the village was rebuilt, but under the rule of a new leader. One of the old council members took control and soon after, a revolution began to arise. Eventually, the shinobi alliance had cut out and abandoned us for what we've become with our new ruler. A strict, fiendish man. Konoha received a new name. Ketsuekigakure. Hidden Blood village."

Naruto and Pakkun were shocked. Over the short course of 100 years, the village had fallen that far? And all because he wasn't their to help stop it? Chojuro broke Naruto out of his thoughts by handing him a spare headband. Instead of the leaf symbol he had grown to love, it was now replaced by a scythe. Yes. The village had fallen. "You'll need this to get into the village without raising suspicion. From their, we'll need you to meet with the Hokage." Chojuro explained.

"Why would I need to meet with _him_?" Naruto asked.

"Simple. Your chakra source is far too strong to go unnoticed in our village. A normal civilian wouldn't have that kind of power. Should they check our rosters and see that your not in them, they'll treat you as an intruder and likely kill you."

Naruto nodded in agreement and took off his headband. He stared at it for a moment with a sad smile. Memories of how he got the headband and the missions he had with Team seven flooded into his head. He gently clutched the headband in his fist before placing it in the pocket of his jacket. He took the new headband from Chojuro and put it on. Now that things were settled, they continued for the village.

* * *

><p>Entering the village was rather easy. The security was a lot more strict than it used to be. Apparently no one that's not a shinobi is allowed to enter or leave the village. So not even traveling merchants were permitted into the walls. To Naruto, that felt like a prison. Keeping people locked up in the confines of the village didn't sit too well with him. But acting on that now would get them caught. He knew he'd be able to handle himself should they be attacked but he didn't know about Chojuro, Saki or Pakkun. He didn't want to put them in any danger.<p>

The hard part, however, would be the meeting with the Hokage. From what Naruto understood, and that wasn't much at this point, the Hokage was very strict and would be hard to fool. Naruto looked around the village, taking in the view. He didn't really like it. It somewhat still looked like the old Konoha but it was definitely different. The villagers didn't look as happy as they used to. The feeling in the air was unsettling and it wasn't as lively. The children weren't very easy going and looked as serious as the adults and shinobi. It was like their childhood didn't even exist or matter to them.

The part that really bothered him were the changes to the Hokage monuments. He clenched his fists and teeth, staring at what they had done. The Shodai through Sandaime Hokage's faces were destroyed. The Fourth and Fifth Hokage's were untouched. He also noticed that they hadn't placed Kakashi's face up their, though him having been the Rokudaime Hokage. He looked ahead and saw that they were approaching the Hokage's mansion. He was about to come face to face with the man responsible for most of this change. He didn't know if he'd be able to control himself, but for Chojuro and Saki's sakes, he'd have to.

Entering the Hokage's office, Naruto noticed that they had done little change to it. That calmed him down a bit before he was now staring at the Hokage. His eyes widened as he stared at the man in front of him. "N…no way…it can't be.." Naruto said under his breath.

Staring back at him with a smirk was the Hokage. The part that shocked him, was that it looked like an older version of Konohamaru. He had the same hair style as well as fashion sense. Somewhat long, blue scarf wrapped around his neck. "Well now. Chojuro and Saki. I take it your mission was a success?"

Chojuro nodded. "Yes, Hokage-sama. The other members of our squad will be returning shortly. They decided to rest up for a bit as we kept going."

The Hokage smiled and nodded. His eyes rested on Naruto and his smile disappeared. Naruto had luckily remembered to take off the headband before entering. But for the some reason the man did not seem happy to see him. "And who is this? I don't recall seeing him before."

"I apologize, Hokage-sama. But we found him in enemy territory. He was quite strong and wishes to be enlisted as a shinobi here."

"Oh, is that so?" The Hokage said. He stared at Naruto for a minute, as if trying to see through some sort of deceit. Naruto was getting very nervous by the way he was looking at him. "So who exactly are you and how did you manage to get out of the village?" he asked questioningly.

Naruto scratched the back of his head, nervously. "Oh, uh. I used to be a merchant! Yeah! But I wanted to become a shinobi so I sorta, stowed away on some mission to train! Yeah, that's it!" Naruto said. By now, he was slightly shaking, but trying not to make it obvious. 'Please buy it. Please buy it!' he thought.

"Interesting. Your chakra levels do seem to speak well of your strength. Tell me. What is you name?" the Hokage asked.

Naruto grinned and fist pumped in front of himself. "Naruto Uzumaki, at your service!" He said, cockily.

The Hokage's eyes widened with shock, as well as Saki, who gasped at Naruto's blunder. Chojuro mentally face palmed. Naruto noticed their reactions and it finally clicked. He began sweating bullet's, realizing that was a BIG mistake. The Hokage did not look pleased either. "How dare you!" The Hokage said, fiercely.

"Uh, no! I mean, Uzumaki is only my middle name! Yeah! My parents were in debt to Naruto, so they named me after him!" He said, very nervously. Hoping the Hokage would buy it, he decided to keep the lie going. "My full name is…uh…" He stopped, trying to think of something.

'Crap! I don't know what to say!' He mentally yelled at himself. "Uh. Senju! Yeah, Naruto Senju! At your service!" He said. The Hokage didn't show any emotion, as if he were still processing what Naruto had told him. Naruto was putting on his best fake smile. However, on the inside he was freaking out and hoping his lie would be bought. Chojuro and Saki merely held their breath, hoping that this would all be over.

Finally, the Hokage smiled. "Well, it's nice to meet you Naruto Senju! Since you're of Senju descendants, we'd be glad to have you as a shinobi." He said. Everyone let out a sight of relief, but it was not over just yet. "However, you will need to spar against one of our Anbu in order to gain entry into our ranks. The spar will be set 3 days from now. For now, enjoy your stay in our village." The Hokage said, dismissing them all to leave.

The four of them left the room, thankful that everything worked out. "That was a close one." Pakkun said, still a bit nervous about the events that just occurred.

"You cut that way too close. The history books are right. You really are the most hyper-active, knuckleheaded ninja in the world." Saki said, not too pleased about nearly being placed on the Hokage's shit list. Naruto just scratched his head and looked at her apologetically.

"Well, it's over now. We still need to get answers, for all of us." Chojuro said, to which everyone nodded in agreement. He sighed. "This is such a pain. Why did _we_ have to get stuck in this situation?" He said.

Naruto sweat dropped. Yeah, this guy was _definitely_ related to Shikamaru. Than, something hit Naruto and his face fell. "I just have one request." he said. Both Saki and Chojuro stared at him. He looked at them both, still seemingly depressed. "Where was Sakura-Chan buried?" He asked.

Both Saki and Chojuro felt bad for Naruto. They knew that was coming. They didn't know him personally, or all that well. But they knew that he cared for his teammate. Most people did. They knew that request was going to be un-avoidable. "I know where it is. Just follow me." Saki said. Naruto nodded. "You coming Chojuro?"

Chojuro shook his head. "Nah, I think I'm gonna get some rest. This whole situation is such a pain."

"And I should probably head back to ninja hound summoning grounds. Later Naruto." Pakkun said, before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

Saki nodded and took Naruto with her to the graveyard.

* * *

><p>As they entered the graveyard, Naruto saw that the area had been expanded. He figured as much, remembering what Chojuro told him about Sasuke and the destruction of the village. Plus, it <em>had<em> been 100 years. Many shinobi were bound to die by then, be it old age or being KIA. It just came with being a shinobi and living in the shinobi world.

Saki led Naruto to the far ends of the graveyard. Their seemed to be less graves here. Walking past a few of them, he recognized a few names. They were all people who were seen as Hero's in the village. The Hokage, and even a few names he didn't recognize at first glance. Finally, his eyes rested on 2 graves that were, again, separated from the rest. He stared at the first one, not even flinching. It was his grave. Below it, their were a few words inscribed in the cement tombstone. He read the inscription out loud.

"Naruto Uzumaki. Kyuubi Jinchuuriki and strongest shinobi of all of Konoha. Through the darkness, your heart and soul guide us to the light, even in our darkest hours. To the most recognized and loved shinobi, you will be sorely missed." He continued to stare at it, Saki just smiling at him. A small tear fell down his face. Not out of sadness. But happiness. He was truly loved by everyone in the village. Even without becoming Hokage, part of his dream had come true. He was somebody important to everyone in the village. They all looked up to him. Even in death.

But his happiness was replaced by sadness when he saw the tombstone next to his. The tombstone belonged to his teammate, and love. Sakura Haruno. Again, their was an inscription below. He was too heartbroken to read them aloud. But rather, read them in his head.

'Sakura Haruno. Renowned Medic and Shinobi. Surpassed even her teacher, Tsuande and, without whom, we would not be here today. Your beautiful smile and kind heart shall continued to heal us for eternity.'

Again, more tears streamed down his face. Saki didn't say a word. She knew this was hard on him. Naruto stared at the tombstone before finding something interesting. Below the inscription was a strange looking seal. He placed his hand on the seal, studying it. "What's this?" He asked.

"Oh. That's a storage seal placed their by Sakura herself before she died. She wanted to place it their herself, so they constructed the tombstone before she had died. No one's been able to get it to react. We believe it's only meant for her descendants but she never had any. The Hokage believed their must be someone and had many people try. He even had me try, thinking I was somehow related to her. But it didn't work." Saki explained.

Naruto studied the seal even further. 'That's weird. It looks similar to my tetragram seal for the fox.' he thought. 'I wonder.' He concentrated his chakra into his hand and placed it on the seal. Before he knew it, the seal reacted and summoned what Sakura had left their. All it was, was a book, a picture of Team seven, and a note. Saki gasped, shocked that the seal had reacted to Naruto's chakra.

'So it was meant for him? But, why?' Saki thought. She saw the note on the ground and picked it up, reading it aloud. "Naruto. If your reading this, your probably still alive. I knew you couldn't be dead. Not before you became Hokage, that is. I made this seal so only _you_ could find these. I just wanted to say, I'm sorry. It's my fault you were nearly killed. If I hadn't been so careless, that wouldn't have happened. My chakra is fading, so I don't have much time. The diary I placed with our team picture will explain everything else I couldn't say. I'm dying Naruto. I just want you to…it just cuts off their…." Saki said, sadly.

Naruto didn't look up. She knew he was probably grieving and just couldn't take anymore of it. He kept looking at the diary, as if it would disappear if he looked away. It was all he had left of Sakura. He tightened his grip on the book, refusing to let go or let anyone else touch it. He stood up, picking the picture up with him. "Let's go…" he said. Saki nodded and escorted him out of the graveyard.

As they left the graveyard, the storage seal continued to react to Naruto's chakra. A feint, yellow light erupted from the creases of the seal, before slowly fading away.

* * *

><p><strong>That's the next chapter. Please review and I would also like to thank those who already had. I am also pleased that some of you are already discussing andor thinking about what I may or may not be thinking with this story. I thank you for that as that sort of thing makes me feel like I'm doing my job as an author. (Kyuubifan1000 and Excele Kurokami) Please keep it up! Have a nice day everyone and be on the look out for the next chapter!**


	3. Hand's off

**Alive and Alone**

**Part III**

**Hands off**

* * *

><p>With their recent discovery, Saki dragged Naruto out of the cemetery. She believe this new discovery could help them. Help them all, as well as fill in the gaps in History. She thought that if anyone could make some good use of this information, it was Chojuro. She stopped in front of his house and banged on the door.<p>

Inside, Chojuro awoke to the loud banging. He sat up in his bed, yawning and rubbing the back of his head. Hearing the loud banging, he wasn't too pleased. It wasn't that late in the day, but he never liked being disturbed during a nap. The whole thing was just a pain in the ass to him. The banging continued, even as he got closer to the door. "Ugh. I'm coming, I'm coming." he muttered. Opening the door, he was surprised to see both Naruto and Saki.

"What are you two doing here? I was trying to take a nap ya know." He told them.

"Sorry Chojuro. But Naruto found something important!" Saki said, pushing passed her teammate and into his house. He was about to object before Naruto invited himself in as well. Chojuro sighed and shut the door behind them. This was becoming a bigger pain in the ass by the minute. Once the door was shut and locked, he followed Naruto and Saki into his kitchen. Gathered around the table, Saki explained what they had found.

"While we were in the cemetery, Naruto-san found something at Sakura-sama's grave." She told him. He gave her a puzzled look.

"You mean the seal? We haven't been able to break that thing in years. It can only be opened by one of Sakura-Sama's descendants. If she even had any." He told her. Saki shook her head.

"No, it wasn't. Naruto-san studied the seal and it reacted to his chakra!" She exclaimed. The pink haired girl held a large grin on her face while Chojuro seemed extremely surprised. He looked at Naruto, as if he still couldn't believe what he was told. Naruto offered him a nod, assuring him that it was true, and showed him the book and the note.

"This is good. With this book, we can finally figure out why Sakura-Sama died and the truth behind what happened to Konoha." Chojuro said. He reached over to take the book to Naruto, only to have him jerk it away. This action surprised both Anbu and they just stared at him in shock. Naruto gave them a semi-serious look.

"No one touches this book." He said.

"W-what are you talking about Naruto? We need that book to-"

"I said, no one touches it!" He said, more seriously this time. Chojuro and Saki were starting to feel a little scared at the way he was behaving. His expression finally softened as he stared at the book. "Sakura-Chan left this book for me to find. She had faith that I wasn't truly dead. It's all I have to remember her. To remember all of them." He said with a sad smile on his face. "That's why I can't let anybody touch it."

Chojuro and Saki relaxed a bit. They understood how he felt. To have suddenly lost everything all in one go and have nothing to remember it by. Everyone who lived in the shinobi world felt that way, at least once. He missed his friends. His comrades. His home. "Alright. We won't touch it. But we still need to investigate what's in that book." Chojuro told him.

Naruto nodded. "Than I'll read it to you." He said. Naruto placed the book gently on the table, as if it would disintegrate from any sudden pressure. Carefully, he opened the cover and flipped through a couple of pages. The book was started a few days after his 'death'. "Most of them are too faded. I can't read them." He told them. He continued flipping through until his eyes rested on a legible page. The date was just a few weeks after they believed him to be dead. "Here we go." He said.

"Log number 12. It's been about 2 weeks since he's been gone. The village is already falling apart without him being here. Tsunade-Sama hasn't been getting any better either. She's still refusing to send me out on any missions. I'll need to wait until she steps down and Kakashi-Sensei takes over…Were already preparing for war, too. Sasuke…he's attacking the village again. This time, he's got a larger army than Tobi's." He stopped. His eyes rested at the bottom of the page.

'Naruto. I wish you were still here…'

Saki walked over, beside Naruto and looked at the book. Naruto continued flipping through the pages, searching for another one that was legible. Unfortunately, almost none of them were. They were about to give up until they reached one of the final pages. It was legible, but fading. Saki looked at Naruto. "May I?"

Naruto nodded as Saki stared at the page. She skimmed through it and her eyes widened. "T-this…this was written the day Sakura-Sama died. The day Konoha was destroyed by Sasuke Uchiha." She said.

Naruto and Chojuro's eyes widened. Saki looked back at the page and began reading it aloud.

"This is going to be my final entry. I don't have much time and need to get this all out. We won the battle against Sasuke. Thanks to Kakashi-Sensei, the village is safe. Or, what's left of it. Sasuke is dead, killed by our sensei and me. I regretted doing it. Not because I wanted him back anymore. But because I felt like I was crushing what Naruto had worked so hard to achieve. It still sickens me. Most of our friends are safe but I was poisoned. I have don't have much chakra left. I could heal myself but…I can't bear this any longer. It's my fault for what happened to Naruto. My fault that the village was destroyed. So I'm using my chakra to write this and a note, for Naruto. I can feel that he's still alive. He'll return to the village and fix everything. He always manages to fix it. I have the village elders preparing my tombstone so I can place and unbreakable storage seal. Naruto, if you're reading this, that seal was meant for you. I wanted to say I'm sorry. If I wasn't so clumsy, I wouldn't have triggered that trap. I told the medics that it was a far too advanced poison. I can't live with myself for what I did. But, Naruto. If you're really reading this, I want-"

Again, the writing faded out their. Chojuro and Saki looked at a now downcast Naruto. They could tell, just by looking at his expression, what he was thinking. He believed it was his fault Sakura died. She let herself be killed because he got caught in that trap and ended up here. And because of that, he wasn't their to fight Sasuke and defend the village. It was all his fault. Saki placed a hand on his shoulder. "It wasn't your fault, Naruto-San." She told him.

Naruto just looked away. "She let herself die when she could have saved herself…that's one mystery solved. But that still doesn't explain what happened to the original Konoha. We need to figure this out, and fast. Their running out of time." Chojuro muttered.

Naruto was confused. "Who's this "them" your talking about?" He asked. Chojuro sighed.

"The rebellion." He told him. "A group of shinobi that want to overthrow the Hokage and return the village to what it once was. Their in hiding but their running out of time. The Hokage is growing suspicious of us already. With us bringing you here, it will only further add to his suspicion."

"So your with this, rebellion?" Naruto asked.

Both Chojuro and Saki nodded. "The Hokage is an evil man. He may not have seemed it earlier, but trust us. He's the one who created this horrible village." Saki said.

"I don't get it. What's so horrible about it?" Naruto asked.

Chojuro closed his eyes and leaned against the wall. Naruto averted his gaze from him, and looked to Saki, who only stared at the floor. He couldn't explain it, but he had this weird feeling in his gut that he wasn't going to like his answer. Chojuro finally spoke, but Naruto really wished he hadn't. "He rules the village with an iron fist. He rid the village of it's elders, taking on a permanent dictatorship. No one is permitted outside the village without being sent on a mission. So no one can leak any information out to the rest of the villages. But the worst part…"

Naruto held his breath. This wasn't going to be good. "In order to become a shinobi, you must take the life of your best friend." He said. His eyes after saying that held a sense of ferocity. Something Naruto only saw in either cold blooded killers. Was this really what their village had become? Where you had to take the life of a close friend just to become a shinobi?

"They use that as a test of loyalty. Every shinobi under his rule has done this." Chojuro said.

"S…so you two have…"

Both of them shook their heads. "I said anyone under HIS rule. Were only undercover. When it was time for us to take their lives, we staged it. Our friends fled the village to join the rebellion outside the village. This way, we'd become shinobi and gain the Hokage's trust."

Naruto let out a breath of relief. He stared at the book again, remembering what was just read. He slowly shut the book and left his hand on the cover. He sighed, and slowly picked the book up and walked out of the room.

* * *

><p>He needed time to think. To process everything that was going on. But he needed a place to do it. He looked up and found he had unconsciously walked back to the graveyard. Deciding this was a better place than any, he entered the graveyard and walked back toward Sakura's grave. He plopped down on the ground and stared at the book. Unknown to him, Saki had followed him their. She stood behind one of the villages many tree's, observing him. She felt bad for the Jinchuuriki but knew their was nothing she could do to help. She didn't know the boy on a personal level and had no idea what he was going through. After all, it's not everyday someone you know becomes immortal, right? Suddenly, she felt Naruto's chakra begin to raise. He was getting angry, probably at himself. She looked around and was shocked to see a couple shinobi walking her way, laughing about a conversation they were having. She quickly ran to Naruto before they could notice.<p>

As Naruto's chakra begin to grow in intensity, the ground below him began to glow an odd yellow. Naruto noticed the strange light but was dragged out of his trance by Saki. "Naruto-San! Mask your chakra!" She called out.

Naruto flipped and quickly took control of his chakra again, returning everything to normal. The Anbu didn't seem to notice a thing, allowing them to let out breaths of relief. Naruto found himself now sitting on top of Sakura's grave and he quickly tried to stand up. As he did, the ground below him collapsed and he had fallen through. The yellow light from earlier spiked rapidly in the whole, before disappearing just as quickly as it had come. "Are you alright, Naruto-San?" Saki asked, peering down in the hole.

Naruto rubbed the top of his now pained head. "Yeah, I'm alright." He said. He stood up and brushed himself off when something beside him began moving. He turned over to see the lid to a coffin slowly lift itself up. Naruto's eyes widened out of fear, freezing him where he stood.

He shook and stuttered as he watched until the lid fell to the ground beside it's coffin. Two hands lifted themselves out, and rested on the sides of the coffin. Naruto lost control and began yelling. "AHHH! ZOMBIE!" He yelled.

He ran and struggled as fast as he could to climb out of the hole. Saki grabbed his hand and pulled him out, causing the two to tumble to the ground. Naruto quickly jumped up and backed away. A figure slowly rose out of the ground, as Naruto just stared at it out of fear. When the pieces finally clicked, he relaxed a bit, but now stood their staring out of shock and confusion. Saki had done the same. "N…No way. This…this isn't possible!" She yelled, backing away, closer to Naruto.

"Y…You're…" Naruto struggled to say. He tried once more to choke out the end of his sentence. "Your alive!"

Standing in front of them was a now alive Sakura Haruno, who had looked just as surprised as they did. No one moved or spoke. They just took in the events that were now unfolding before them. Naruto couldn't believe his eyes. Was this real? Was his teammate really living and breathing before him after somehow being brought back from the dead? It was impossible though! But here it was, happening at this very moment.

Sakura's mind stopped racing, long enough for her to realize who it was standing in front of her. "N…Naruto? Is…is that really you?" She asked, tears starting to spill out of her eyes.

Naruto, still unable to fully comprehend the situation, managed a nod of assurance. Sakura slowly took one step forward, than another. She finally just broke out into an all out run and found herself hugging her blonde haired teammate. The tears fell faster into the Jinchuuriki's shirt. Naruto just stared at Sakura, but softened his expression and sat them down as his teammate cried. Figuring this out could wait. Right now, he wanted to cherish what had just happened and, more importantly, comfort his teammate and long time love.

* * *

><p>"Hokage-sama. What are you're orders?" Asked a masked Anbu.<p>

The Hokage didn't answer. Rather, just stared out the window. He was deep in thought, considering different options and processing what he needed to do, apposed to the options of what he could do. Finally, he turned to the Anbu. "I want you to keep an eye on Naruto Senju. I can feel a powerful chakra source within him. It must be kept in check, do you understand?" The Hokage asked.

The Anbu nodded and left the room. The Hokage returned his gaze to the window, now staring at the broken pieces of the Hokage monument. His gaze was fixed on that of the Sandaime Hokage. Hiruzen Sarutobi. 'You were a fool, Hiruzen. Soon, i will have completely erased that foolishness from the village. Just you wait.' he thought.

The Hokage gasped with widened eyes as a strange sensation surged through his body. He stood at the window, now looking rather angry. He felt a powerful chakra source that he couldn't quite identify. It was strong. TOO strong. 'Whoever possesses that chakra...' he thought, now wearing a smug grin. 'will be quite useful to me.'

* * *

><p><strong>Their you have it! That was my plan all along! If your confused, just discuss it with other readers in the reviews while you wait for the next chapter! I don't plan on keeping you all confused forever, and the mysteries will be ending REALLY soon, and that's where the story will really kick off. Please leave a review!<strong>

**Also, I'm still looking for a beta that can help make my chapters better so if your interested and are good, please feel free to send me a message with "BETA" in the subject bar. Thanks again! Hope you enjoyed reading so far!**


	4. Finish it

_Italics represent flashback's_

'words' like this are the characters thoughts

**Alive and Alone**

**Part IV**

**Finish it**

* * *

><p>Sakura continued to cry into Naruto's shirt. Her sobs getting slower as time passed. Naruto could only stare sadly at her. Unable to think of something to say that could help. For now, he decided to just let Sakura get it all out. Chojuro and Saki stepped forward, only to suddenly stop with widened eyes. "Shit. Naruto-San, Sakura-Sama! We have to go!" Chojuro quickly yelled.<p>

Naruto gave him a quizzical look. Sakura wiped her eyes, still trying to fight back the rest of her tears, but only barely keeping them at bay. "What are you talking about, Chojuro?" Naruto asked him.

"I can sense the Hokage's chakra. If he comes here and sees us, we'll be punished severely! We have to go!"

Naruto's eyes widened and nodded in agreement. He helped Sakura to her feet and they quickly made their way out of the cemetery. Chojuro guessed his house would be the safest place to wait for now. Heading back in the direction they had came from, they quickened their pace. As they moved, Sakura's eyes widened. Her gaze looked distant and the color that was once in her eyes had faded. The color in her face became a very pale white and her breath became labored. Naruto turned around to see what was wrong before her body had collapsed. "Sakura-Chan!" He called out.

He quickly caught her body before it had hit the ground. He rolled her over, trying to make sure she was okay. Her eyes were now shut and her body was shivering rather violently. Her face was still a pale white and tears were streaming down her face once again. Naruto had a strange feeling. These tears were no longer out of sadness and guilt. But pain. Confused, he turned to Chojuro, looking for guidance.

"We can take a look at her at my house. But we have to keep moving." Chojuro said. Naruto nodded and hoisted his teammate onto his back. They quickly resumed their run, trying to get home before they were discovered by the Hokage.

The group had managed to make it back before being found out. However, Sakura's condition hadn't improved in the slightest. Naruto and Saki had helped her to the couch. Naruto placed a blanket over her shivering form. Saki handed him a wet cloth. "Place this on her forehead. It should help her fever." She said.

Naruto nodded and did as he was told. The shivering died down a bit, but her tears continued to fall. Naruto was nearly at a loss for words. He had never seen her like this. Or anyone like this for that matter. "What's happening to her?" He asked.

"She's probably remembering something before her death. She's been dead for quite sometime, so her brains probably trying to re-iterate some of her final memories." Chojuro explained to him. Naruto stared at Sakura. His expressions was a sad one. After a few moments, her shivering had stopped and her eyes slowly re-opened. Naruto jumped to her side as quickly as he could.

"Sakura-Chan! Your awake!" He said with a relief.

Sakura looked around, taking in her surroundings. Her eyes rested on Naruto, her brain still processing what her eyes were taking in. "N-Naruto? It really is you." She said quietly. She still felt weak, and couldn't talk very loudly.

She looked around the room once more before her eyes rested on both Chojuro and Saki. She mostly focused on Saki's strange, pink hair. It looked so much like hers. But no one else in the village had hair like that. Especially not naturally. "Who are you two?" She asked.

"We'll fill you in later. You're brain can't process too much information at once." Saki told her, slowly approaching the couch that the medic was laying on. "First, I'll need you to tell us what you were remembering."

Sakura slowly managed a nod. She didn't know why, but she felt she could trust these two. She looked at Naruto, still trying to process if he was real or not. She closed her eyes, trying to re-imagine what she saw just a few moments ago. "I…I was dead. The village…it…Sasuke…" She stopped, struggling to choke out the rest of her sentence. "Sasuke destroyed it." She said.

"Can you explain it to us in more detail?" Chojuro asked. Once again, Sakura nodded, her eyes still closed as if she'd lose her train of thought.

* * *

><p><em>Sakura was sitting in the graveyard. In front of her lied a tombstone that was ceremoniously decorated with the symbol of the Leaf and Whirlpool. In her hands was a beautiful bouquet of flowers, neatly assorted with many different kinds and colors. It was for Naruto's grave. Ever since his death, she would visit his grave as much as possible. Often losing track of the time and remaining their for hours, telling him how much things have changed. What was happening in her life and apologizing. Apologizing for being so careless and getting him killed. <em>

"_I'm so sorry Naruto…I'll be back later. Kakashi-Sensei needs my help in his office today. Things are still as peaceful as you left it." She said, sadly. "I'll be back Naruto." _

_She placed the flowers at the foot of the tombstone as she got up. She turned around and slowly made her way out of the graveyard. As she walked through the streets of the village, she noticed that the shinobi seemed to be in a bit of a panic. Confused, she picked up speed and hurried toward the Hokage tower. She raced up the stairs and barged into the Hokage's office. "Kakashi-Sensei. The village seems to be in a panic! What's going on?" She asked. _

_In front of the window stood Kakashi. He was looking out at what was befalling the village. "It's Sasuke. He's come back to destroy us." He told her. She gasped and her eyes widened. Sasuke was back. _

_They had been preparing for this for years. To defeat Sasuke and bring him back to the village, by force if they had to. But much had changed. She, had changed. She no longer held any love or affection for Sasuke after all he had done. She still cared for him as a teammate and wanted him back. But it wouldn't do any good now. He wanted them all dead. He tried to kill her. To kill Naruto. And the only one who could bring him back. Was gone. Along with any hope of Team 7 being together again. _

* * *

><p>"<em>Sakura! Now!" Kakashi had yelled. <em>

_Sakura gathered chakra into her legs and charged at their opponent. They were fighting Sasuke. He had attacked their village with the Impure World Resurrection Technique. Summoning everyone from his clan who had been killed by Itachi when they were kids. It happened too quickly to request help from the Shinobi Alliance in time. They were on their way, but it wouldn't be enough. The village was in flames and completely destroyed. Most of the civilians and shinobi were dead and the rest, still fighting against the summoned Uchiha. _

_And all she could do was try and take down Sasuke. With her increased speed, she attacked Sasuke. He was exhausted and running low on chakra. He had wasted much of it on Susanoo when he was fighting Kakashi. Now, it was her turn. She leapt toward the Uchiha, who struggled to raise his sword. She gathered chakra into her fists and swung a mighty punch. _

_The onyx haired Uchiha blocked it with his sword, but had it snapped into pieces by Sakura's immense amount of force. Reacting quickly, he jumped away, performing his fireball jutsu. The flames raced for Sakura but wasn't strong enough to hit her. Sasuke had fled behind his wall of kin. Itachi, Mikoto and Fugaku. His deceased family. An injured Kakashi had joined her side, clutching his arm. "Sakura. We need a distraction. If we can lower his guard, I can end this with one final jutsu." Kakashi told her. "Just get in close and immobilize him." He told her. _

_Sakura nodded and gathered more chakra into her legs. She sped toward Sasuke once again, only to be blocked by his family. Kakashi blazed through hand signs and slammed his hands on the ground. "Earth style: Mud Wall jutsu!" _

_A mud wall quickly shot up underneath Sakura allowing her to jump over the wall of deceased Uchiha that was guarding her target. The deceased didn't give up so easily, and jumped up after her. Three Kakashi's intercepted them with Kunai, trying to hold them off. Itachi played it smart and quickly turned. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu."_

_He shot flames in Sakura direction. One of the Kakashi clones jumped in front of them, taking the hit, allowing Sakura to progress. She continued running at an incredible speed. She jumped up slightly and slammed one foot on the ground. As she did, one of the sharp fragments of Sasuke's sword flew into the air as she grabbed it. _

"_You think you can stop me! I'll still kill you and erase you from this village!" Sasuke yelled. He tried using the last of his chakra and managed one final Chidori. He ran full speed at Sakura. Sakura gritted her teeth and continued heading in his direction. Kakashi noticed what she was doing and ran after her, ignoring the struggle between the undead and his clones. _

"_Sakura! Wait!" _

_Sasuke lunged his arm at Sakura, attempting to make contact with his lightning jutsu. Just before it made contact, his jutsu had disappeared. Blood dripped onto the ground in multiple areas. Kakashi's eyes widened at who's blood it was. _

_It belonged to both his remaining squad mates of Team 7. Sasuke had a surprised and mortified look on his face. His arm fell back to his side. In between him and the pink haired medic was the fragment of his sword, plunging into both their bodies. Thought they were both stabbed, Sasuke wasn't bleeding as badly. It had missed a vital organ, so he would most likely live to continue fighting. It had missed Sakura's vital organs as well, but had cut her deeper. She would need to heal it soon or she would naturally bleed to death. _

"_You…" Sasuke choked out. Blood had begun dripping out of his mouth. _

"_We both die here, Sasuke." Sakura said. "It's actually fitting. The two people who had destroyed Naruto's dream. Dying by the same blade." She smirked, coughing up a little blood. An image of Naruto flashed in her mind. "I got him killed…I can't ever forgive myself for that….but you. You crushed the village he had loved and fought so hard to protect…for that, I can't forgive you either." _

"_Sakura!" Kakashi yelled. Sasuke's eyes widened once again once Kakashi had appeared behind him. He had lunged at him, plunging a rasengan right into his side. The impact sent him flying, killing him instantly and snapping the sword fragment. Kakashi watched as Sasuke's lifeless body hit the ground. _

'_Ironic, isn't it? That the jutsu used to kill him belonged to the person who fought to bring you back.' Kakashi thought, before returning his attention to Sakura. She had collapsed and rolled onto her back after taking out the sword fragment. "Sakura. Why did you?.."_

"_Because." She said. "He was too strong for us. Their was no other way to keep him still." She said. _

_Before Kakashi could say anything, the deceased Uchiha began attacking him. They had won the struggle with his clones and were now moving for him. He stepped in front of Sakura with 2 kunai in hand. He wasn't going to stop fighting, even if it meant being killed himself. A large amount of sand erupted from the ground and surrounded the undead Uchiha. Kakashi turned around to see that Gaara and his shinobi had arrived. And just in time too. _

"_We rushed here as fast as we could, Kakashi. We'll handle things from here." Gaara told him. _

_Kakashi nodded and ran over to Sakura. He hoisted her on his shoulder and fled. Luckily, he had planned ahead and positioned the medics inside the Hokage monument safe houses. Inside, he brought Sakura over to Ino, who had just finished with another patient. After having lost so many patients, she was the only medic who still had any chakra left. Tsunade was among the shinobi who were lost. Seeing Sakura hanging on Kakashi's back, Ino rushed over. "Sakura!"_

"_Theirs no time, Ino. She's lost a lot of blood and I think she may be poisoned." Kakashi said._

_Ino nodded and brought her over to a medical bed. She conjured up medical chakra into her hands and began to work on Sakura. After a few moments, the blood had stopped pouring out, but Sakura was still in danger. The chakra had disappeared and Ino started panting heavily. "I can't get rid of the poison. I don't have enough chakra." Ino told him. _

"_It…doesn't matter. The poison is…too advanced. I only have a short time left." Sakura said. Tears started pouring down Ino's face. Kakashi slammed his fist into the wall beside him. He was cursing himself for letting this happen. How could he have let all 3 of his students die? Naruto being crushed. Sasuke betraying them for revenge. And now Sakura. "I…have one request. I want to place…a storage seal on my tombstone. Don't ask questions. I don't have time." She said, weakly. _

_Ino nodded and quickly ran out of the room. A few of the shinobi outside, guarding the medical tent, began cutting at stone at a rapid pace. Their was no time to make it fancy. Just making it the proper size and smooth enough in the front for the seal. They brought into Sakura, who was finishing up a note. She struggled to raise her hand and just barely managed to reach the tombstone. She drew the seal on the tombstone and activated it. She placed a diary and the note she had just written on the seal. Inside the book, Kakashi noticed that their was a picture hanging inside. _

_The materials were inside the seal, and Sakura's hand fell to the side of the bed. She coughed up more blood, causing Ino to call out her name. Her friend was crying hysterically. Sakura's heart slowly stopped beating as her eyes began to close. In her final moments, a small smile appeared on her face. Kakashi noticed a feint movement of her lips and smiled as tears fell down his face. She had mouthed the name of their favorite, knuckleheaded shinobi. A name that still managed to bring peace, even after the loss of a comrade. Or your own life. _

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><p>Sakura finished her explanation, letting a small amount of tears escape her eyes. Naruto was downcast, staring at the ground. Chojuro and Saki just remained silent. Sakura thought about the note and diary she placed in the seal and looked at Naruto. "Did you…find the book?" She asked.<p>

Naruto nodded to a relieved Sakura. She slowly closed her eyes, sending Naruto into panic mode. "Sakura-Chan!"

"She's fine, Naruto-San. She just needs to rest. She'll be fine when she wakes up tomorrow morning." Saki explained. Naruto allowed himself to calm down and stared at Sakura. He fell to his knees in front of his teammate, not saying a word. Chojuro walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You can stay here the night. I don't have any room for more than one person, but you should be fine for the night."

Naruto nodded and returned his gaze to Sakura. Chojuro turned to Saki and motioned for her to leave them alone. She nodded and left the house. Chojuro shut off the lights and walked upstairs to his room. Even in the darkness, Naruto could was still able to make out the sleeping form of Sakura. His eye lids started to grow heavy, but he fought himself to stay away. He didn't want to risk any of this being a dream. No matter how many bad details their were. This was one detail he didn't want to be fake.

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><p><strong>There's the next chapter. I had to cut it a little short because I don't to give away too much information, too fast. Plus, I figured that this would be a good place to stop. Their will be more flashbacks like this one too come that will explain what had happened during Naruto's coma. So like I said, the original characters won't be the main focus at any part in the story. You can all count on it being focused on the characters we already know and love. Hope your still enjoying the story and please review! Thanks!<strong>


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